I got 4 above twice in a row and didn’t progress though so no clueWhile I think the progression decision depends on a more holistic assessment and on the results of each cohort, your scores definitely give you good chances - I know someone who was progressed last year with worse results than yours.
Hi @Andrei Radu ,Hi @Chris Brown to take the questions one at a time:
Finally, I have recently written an in depth post describing the differences between debt and equity finance, I will quote it bellow:
- Market position: Paul Hastings is a Vault 20 firm (the immediate next tier in general reputation after the V10 in the US, particularly in regards to transactional practices) operating a medium-sized office in the City with a focus on finance/capital markets practices.
- Closest competitors in core practice areas: in the capital markets space, while we could subdivide between competitors in ECM, DCM, CLOs, securitization, and high-yield (and, for the purposes of the interview, perhaps one ought to look up Chambers rankings for all of them) at a general level I would say Paul Hastings' competitors will be some of the Magic Circle firms (in particular, A&O Shearman and Clifford Chance), Latham, White & Case, Weil, and Milbank. For its big ticket lender-side banking and finance practice, the firm's main rivals would be Latham, A&O, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, White & Case, and Milbank. For its private equity investment funds offering, we would be looking at Kirkland, Simpson Thacher, Debevoise, Clifford Chance, and Goodwin.
- Closest US firm competitors: looking at other V20 firms with a focus on finance/capital markets practices, I would say Milbank, Weil, and Ropes & Gray.
- What makes Paul Hastings unique: the firm has market leading expertise in the CLO and hotels & leisure space; and as opposed to many of its finance-focused US competitors it has strong expertise in a set of practices that can be complementary for many transactions, such as employment, real estate, and white collar crime.
- Securitization: securitization essentially involves taking illiquid assets (so, assets that cannot be traded) such as loans, pooling them together, and repackaging them into securities (such as bonds) that can be sold to investors. The pooling of many different assets (such as mortgages, student loans, credit card receivables etc) in theory will provide the investors with greater protection from impact of defaults, which makes buying the package of assets more attractive than purchasing specific assets individually. This is a method used by banks and other lenders to take credit off their balance sheets and transfer risk to investors; freeing them up to loan more money to others. It is also a highly-regulated area of finance following the Great Financial Crisis, so there is a lot of work for lawyers to ensure business remain compliant.
- High-yields products: this refers to the offering of high-yield bonds; sometimes also called 'junk bonds'. The term is used in opposition to investment-grade bonds to refer to bonds issued by companies who are at a higher risk of default. To compensate for it, the companies will have to offer investors significantly higher yields (essentially, higher interest payments) than for investment grade bonds.
Do you know of anyone that has been invited?any interviews from Faegre?
I don’t know anyone invited either but it should be hopefully be alright!Do you know of anyone that has been invited?
It’s a little unnerving to have seen someone get a PFO already..
Just got feedback post AC, and I was rejected because my interviewers were "uncertain about my commitment to the UK" (international candidate, recent graduate from RG London, some work experience in my home country). I am not sure how my interviewers assumed that given: I was not asked anything about my commitment to the UK, and I did make a case about training in the UK (spoke about how I chose to study law in the UK in the first place, cited diversity and opportunities to deal with international law) while answering "why our firm". I was told I was a "fantastic" candidate otherwise, with a unique background and fresh perspectives. Not only am I unsure how to deal with this going forward, but this remark has left a sour taste - it feels like a cop-out, biased way to reject international candidates.
Is this after TI? I thought they would get back to us this week, hopefully next week 🤞did anybody hear from browne jacobson this week?
finally got a VS offer 😭 was starting to lose all hope that i can start training in 2027
I personally advise you to worry less about the scores. There are so many things that are considered when scoring, and different questions test different competencies that sometimes aren’t fully reflected in the scores themselves.I got 2 average and 3 above average on the Mayer Brown verbal reasoning test. Reckon that's enough to pass to the next stage?
Hey!Hello guys, i recently took the capp test for linklaters - my strengths are critical thinking and resilience but my lowest is commercial thinking - will i be able to meet their benchmark or is this really bad?(
Ayyy love to see it …..! Much deservedfinally got a VS offer 😭 was starting to lose all hope that i can start training in 2027
the cappfinity test results given to the candidate are worthless.Hello guys, i recently took the capp test for linklaters - my strengths are critical thinking and resilience but my lowest is commercial thinking - will i be able to meet their benchmark or is this really bad?(
Some firms make it clear that you need to on their website, while for other firms they specify that one needs to have strong ties to the region. In any case, it’s always best to confirm with GR.Hi everyone! In order to apply for Dubai or GCC training contracts, is it necessary to know Arabic? Or can we still apply? Does anyone have any idea about it?
Hello guys, i recently took the capp test for linklaters - my strengths are critical thinking and resilience but my lowest is commercial thinking - will i be able to meet their benchmark or is this really bad?(
Hey!
I’d try not to worry too much just yet. From what I understand, the competencies on the Capp test are usually looked at collectively, not in isolation. So even if commercial thinking wasn’t your strongest, strengths like critical thinking and resilience still carry a lot of weight.
It’s not necessarily a dealbreaker to have one area lower than the rest, especially if the overall picture still reflects strong potential.
Hey!
I’d try not to worry too much just yet. From what I understand, the competencies on the Capp test are usually looked at collectively, not in isolation. So even if commercial thinking wasn’t your strongest, strengths like critical thinking and resilience still carry a lot of weight.
It’s not necessarily a dealbreaker to have one area lower than the rest, especially if the overall picture still reflects strong potential.
the cappfinity test results given to the candidate are worthless.
they always have two strengths and one weakness, but don't indicate whether the candidate performed poorly or well
Hey, thank you so much guys. I get the idea.Hiya @Law queries
Just wanted to add to what @trainee4u has already mentioned. I think @Jessica Booker would also have much more interesting things to say here, but I wanted to get something to youWhile the Cappfinity skills report and the Watson Glaser feedback can give you insight into your strengths and areas for development, I just don't think candidates can tell by reading those reports whether they've passed to the next stage. The Cappfinity report, in particular, is designed to be developmental. It generally highlights how you performed across different competencies (e.g., resilience, critical thinking, collaboration), but it doesn’t indicate a pass/fail threshold and any such thresholds are likely to be kept confidential by graduate recruitment. I've seen people with very different traits not get through, and I've seen people who've had similar attributes to the ones you received also get through to the next stage. Likewise, your Watson Glaser feedback report will give you a breakdown of your performance in each section (inference, deduction, etc.) but not necessarily whether you've met Linklaters' benchmark (which they also keep confidential).
For this reason, I don't think you can really read too much into your Cappfinity report. I think your best bet is to focus on what’s in your control next. If you have any questions about other firms you might apply to, feel free to ask. Hope that helps and offers some reassurance![]()